Pets and Rentals: Pros and Cons
Roughly two thirds of Australian households have a pet. Here’s how to think about pets in your investment property, and how to say yes safely.
Whether to accept pets is one of the most consequential decisions an owner makes, because it dramatically changes the size of your applicant pool. The majority of Australian households include a pet. Advertising “no pets” screens most of the market out before they’ve seen your home.
The case for saying yes
- A far larger applicant pool: more applications means more choice and stronger rent.
- Pet owners tend to stay longer: moving with pets is hard, so tenancies are more stable.
- Pet-friendly properties often lease faster and experience shorter vacancies.
The risks, and how they’re managed
The obvious concerns are damage, odours and wear. In practice these are managed through the same tools as any tenancy: thorough application screening (including pet references), a detailed ingoing condition report, routine inspections, and clear conditions around the pet recorded with the tenancy.
WA tenancy law now generally allows tenants to keep pets with consent, which can only be refused in limited circumstances, so the practical question isn’t “pets or no pets”, it’s “how do we manage pets well”. That’s a conversation to have with your property manager rather than a box to tick.
Which properties suit pets
Secure fencing, hard flooring and a practical yard make a property genuinely pet-suitable. Strata by-laws may impose their own rules for apartments. We’ll give you a straight recommendation for your specific property.